Gorgeous juniors, incredible inters and spectacular seniors.
Special solos, dramatic duos and one or two… graceful groups.
Are the alliterations getting annoying? Yeah, they sounded cooler in my head.
What I’m trying to say is on Sunday, Dance Explosion had their Choreography Competition Fundraiser. But I’m not lying about those above descriptions.
I feel like this past week has been all about good causes and I’ve felt very fortunate to be a part of something that is much bigger than myself. Giving back or supporting a good cause is truly rewarding and so important to do.
So, what were we raising money for?
Do it in a dress is a foundation designed to help young girls in Sierra Leone and Uganda get an education. Over 130 million girls around the world are denied an education; Sierra Leone and Uganda are just some of the worst affected. Up to 40% of girls in Sierra Leone and Uganda are forced into child marriage. Almost 50% of female youth (15-24 years old) in Sierra Leone are illiterate and 3 in 5 girls in Sierra Leone do not attend high school.
These statistics are shocking and absolutely awful which is why I was so glad that the teachers of Dance Explosion chose this charity to raise money for.
In the lead up to Sunday’s main event, every day last week, Dance Explosion students were invited to come to dancing in an outfit according to the day’s theme, in exchange for a gold coin donation.
So, Monday it was Fluoro day, Tuesday; 80s day, Wednesday; Glitter day, Thursday; Pyjama day, Friday; Crazy hair and silly socks day, and Saturday; Onesie day.
I think that everybody really enjoyed the added excitement to the regular classes. And it was evident in the insta pics how great people looked.
I will add, us Friday girls also got to wear our Pyjamas that night; it was the most comfortable dance class I’ve had and when I came home at 9:30pm I didn’t have to bother getting changed. Ha!… we should just do that every week Miss Wendy!
The great thing about last week too, is that this charity has meant that we’re able to spread the message (particularly to the younger dancers). Even something as simple as talking to people about these issues going on around the world can do so much to open ours eyes.
It’s like Wendy and Nicola said on Sunday; we are all so lucky that we live in a country where we get access to education, that we have friends and families that support us and that we even get the extra luxury of going to dance classes to simply have fun and dance freely.
Wendy and Nicola
So, let’s get to the fun stuff!
Sunday kicked off with a bang. I was lucky to arrive early and watch as the place was being set up (I will take full credit for the excellent price signs written up for the snacks table, your welcome).
It was so great to see teachers, students, friends and families rocking up all smiles and chatter.
It was going to be an exciting day.
It was a competition but a friendly one. Students from Reservoir, Croydon, Balwyn and Deer Park were invited to choreograph their own routines and Tarik Frimpong (Wendy’s son and our ‘celebrity guest’) would be the judge.
The day was divided into the Junior, intermediate and senior sections.
First up the juniors lit up the whole room with their fabulous routines. Some notable routines were the “Dancing superstars” to the song – This is me. Gabriella with the help of her big sister, Angelique did a really well choreographed dance to – Can’t stop the feelin. And of course, Mesale did a groovy African inspired dance to – Shakira’s, Waka-waka.
Next, we had the intermediate dancers who blew us away with just how talented they are. It’s actually really amazing what everyone comes up with and you can really see they were taught well. Intermediates were divided into two sub-sections; the solos and the duos.
Boy were some of those solo’s amazing. Notable routines included Ariel’s beautiful lyrical, Erakique’s funky hip-hop and Olive’s awesome jazz.
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- Ariel
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- Erakique
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- Olive
The duos were just as good, including; Alexandra & Ainsley, Lucy & her sister Ella and Georga & Lily. However, Erakique and Angelique’s duo brought tears to my eyes.
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- Alexandra & Ansley
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- Lucy & Ella
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- Georgia & Lilly
Finally, the seniors were up. while there were only two solos, both Viviane and Laura did AMAZING. So, inspired and full of pure TALENT!
Probably one of my favourite routines of the senior duos was Katrina and Damien’s dance to Super-trooper (by ABBA). It was just wonderful and kind of also brought a tear to my eye. Among the senior duos we had a few brilliant hip-hop routines that had the crowd whistling and cheering.
Katrina & Damien
To top it all off, we had another beautiful lyrical by a group of senior girls from Croydon. And may I say, gorgeous outfits ladies!
Croydon seniors
Overall everyone did an amazing job. I was talking to some of the older girls in between sections of the afternoon and we agreed how difficult Tarik’s job would be by the end. Of course, he delivered in splendid fashion.
Of course, as corny as it sounds. Really, everyone’s a winner.
I’ve said this about Dance Explosion before; one of its greatest attributes is the fact that we don’t dance to compete (at least not ordinarily or to a high degree). It’s always about having fun and doing something that we all love and have a passion for. It’s about creating art and sharing it with friends and family. To entertain, inspire and to bring out emotions of joy and pride in one another.
I believe dancing can also bring a whole room of strangers closer together through a single performance because we all share in the same moment.
Wendy, Tarik, Nicola and the wonderful contestants!
I was certainly very proud of everyone today.
Have a lovely day! xx
Thanks Clauds. What a lovely tribute. xxx It really was an awesome, happy day. So glad you got to bee part of it too xx